[HN Gopher] Upcycled Bicycle Panniers DIY
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Upcycled Bicycle Panniers DIY
Author : pixiemaster
Score : 92 points
Date : 2023-09-28 07:56 UTC (15 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (rackhackers.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (rackhackers.com)
| nicbou wrote:
| Since they ship a few parts, how does the environmental impact
| compare to buying new bags from Decathlon, or used ones on a
| classified ads website? The latter seems like a better option to
| me.
| abeppu wrote:
| How does this plastic do with UV exposure over time? How does it
| fail?
|
| E.g. I made the mistake of using some plastic bins to store
| plant-related stuff on a mostly-shaded corner of my balcony. One
| day, when I tried to pick one up, the portion of the lip I
| grabbed just broke off under pretty light pressure; the whole
| thing had become weak and brittle. I would hate for a pannier to
| fall apart and dump whatever I'm carrying at some point in the
| future when I hit a bump or something.
| strken wrote:
| From experience, the 20L HDPE water cubes will last years in
| direct sunlight.
|
| Might need to use bigger washers around the anchor points in
| this design? I imagine the holes would be the weakest points,
| and increasing the contract area would spread the stress out
| over more plastic.
| mongol wrote:
| "High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is an ethylene-based polymer
| plastic which is created by exposing petroleum to extreme heat
| and pressure. It's among the most commonly used plastics
| worldwide, and in addition to UV resistance ..."
|
| https://protoplastics.com/uv-resistant-plastics/
| discard_0000001 wrote:
| It's probably possible to use replacement ortlieb latches for a
| more secure rack connection (fully closed latch instead of hang-
| on) with quick release.
|
| For example: https://www.ortlieb.com/usa_en/ql1-hooks-16-mm-with-
| adjustab...
| jrockway wrote:
| Those are nice. I remember using my first set of panniers about
| 20 years ago; they did not have this locking mechanism, I went
| over a bump, and all of my groceries spilled all over the
| street. I ordered a set of Ortleib panniers a few minutes
| later, and have not been disappointed in the intervening 20
| years.
| jerrycruncher wrote:
| This is reminiscent of the coroplast fenders and bike bags that
| Kent Peterson has been making for years:
|
| https://kentpeterson.substack.com/p/coroplast-handlebar-bag
|
| http://www.carsstink.org/peterson/FendForYourself.html
| benbojangles wrote:
| I must have like 20+ of these containers on my allotment. These
| canniers could help transport my garden equipment, tools, and
| plants nicely on my daily ride to the garden plot.
| jmspring wrote:
| There have been versions of reusing plastic tubs for bike
| panniers for years. Here is another example -
|
| https://www.adventurecycling.org/blog/hauling-it-all-make-yo...
| pdxpatzer wrote:
| here is another one:
|
| https://www.thebikebucket.com/index.html
| blacksmith_tb wrote:
| One advantage to using the square food-service buckets as
| panniers is that you can also use them as stools to sit on
| when they're off the bike, try that with your fancy Ortliebs!
| They are kind of bulky though, I have generally preferred to
| stick with the coated fabric commercial panniers (Arkel these
| days, though I have a couple pairs of beat-up Ortliebs which
| I have patched up with Sugru).
| uoaei wrote:
| My anatomy evidently favors Type-II (fast-twitch) muscle
| fibers for cycling, so large cross-sections kill me in
| general. I can't spin through the kilometers in low gears
| like some can. So aerodynamics is more of a concern for me
| (and others with similar anatomy). The jugs in TFA are
| lower profile than kitty litter buckets or other square
| things. However, tailwinds could make up for the drag on
| good days!
| ska wrote:
| If you are really loading up a bit, cross-section is
| pretty much impossible to avoid. The trick is to get
| comfortable with going a snails pace into a headwind, and
| enjoy the free ride with a tailwind...
| mikestew wrote:
| Okay, what am I missing? I don't know that I've ever seen these
| containers. I'm in the U. S., are these common containers in
| other countries? Or do I trip over a half dozen of them on the
| way to work and just never noticed? The web page implies that the
| containers are common, so what is their native environment?
| momirlan wrote:
| They are in Romania. Good design, guys !
| analog31 wrote:
| I've seen kitty litter containers used for this.
|
| Oops, see sibling post.
| ska wrote:
| > I don't know that I've ever seen these containers. I'm in the
| U. S.
|
| They are pretty common in both industrial and wholesale
| contexts, but you aren't going to see them much in retail
| goods.
|
| You've almost certainly been _near_ a bunch of them.
| thereisnospork wrote:
| They are UN-compliant jugs for shipping liquids. They are also
| food grade (in at least some flavors) so are suitable for
| potable water. They can be bought new for ~30 bucks or so from
| McMaster, presumably less elsewhere.
|
| Really common if your selling/buying anything liquid in > 1
| gallon but less than an IBC (those metal framed plastic cubes).
| So not so much the consumer space, but lots of b2b or
| industrial supply type places use them. They are also quite
| rugged so they make a good candidate for reuse.
| tastyfreeze wrote:
| These containers a common for bulk fluids. Locally I have seen
| them in restaurants for cooking oil (usually inside a box) and
| pool water treatment chemicals. I can get as many as I want
| from the community swimming pool.
| lapetitejort wrote:
| Do you just walk up and ask for them?
| [deleted]
| sleepybrett wrote:
| Pretty much, you might check your local recycling center. I
| wish they had a us distributor for their hardware. Seems
| like burning a bunch of jet fuel to get these here kinda
| offset the benefit.
| rangerelf wrote:
| Exactly like that.
| [deleted]
| [deleted]
| imp0cat wrote:
| Those look very similar to the ones for distilled water,
| amongst other things.
| Angostura wrote:
| Don't see them _that_ much here in the UK, but anyone who
| drives a diesel will probably get their Ad Blu in these things
| scottlamb wrote:
| I love the design considerations they described here:
| <https://rackhackers.com/diy-pannier-parts-kit/>. In some ways it
| even sounds superior to my Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic panniers.
| [1] In particular: the Ortlieb Quick-Lock2.1 might not be quite
| as snug at the bottom (it's just a plastic hook), and the roller
| bags' straps can have a loose section depending on how full it is
| and how much care you've taken to get it right.
|
| [1] https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/back-roller-classic+F5301
| NegativeLatency wrote:
| Feels like a copy of the original:
| http://thebikebucket.com/index.html
| rngname22 wrote:
| I have some Watershed drybags that I really love that I want to
| figure out the best way to use as bicycle panniers, does anyone
| have suggestions?
|
| This is the model: https://www.drybags.com/product/assault-pack/
|
| The backpack straps are removable and the bag rolls down quite a
| bit like most rolltops do. I think the loops where the waist
| strap is fed through may be a good attachment point but part of
| me thinks I'd need almost need side baskets or netting or a
| harness on either side of the rear rack that could just accept a
| a large bag without the bag itself having any great attachment
| points.
| bunabhucan wrote:
| Ortlieb sells most of the hardware to fix a rubber bag to
| attach to a rack as spare parts. Alternatively buy a used
| Ortlieb pannier and use the parts as a donor. The "trick" is
| having a stiff "plate" inside the bag for the mating hardware
| and bag to all attach to. You need to be very focused on heel
| clearance with a soft bag, ideally clinching straps pulls the
| bag corner nearest your heel taut. Also be careful of the
| location of the shoulder straps when the bag is mounted on the
| bike, I had the lugnut on a dublin bus inching forward in
| traffic pull off a strap. They need to stay out of your spokes
| but also not hang out to catch on passing vehicles either.
|
| Or just buy an ortlieb with the backpack kit.
| ulnarkressty wrote:
| They look interesting but are they durable? I can see the bolts
| ripping through the plastic if riding in rough terrain. All
| panniers that I've used have the mounting points reinforced so
| that they are not loaded in only a couple of places.
| uoaei wrote:
| This is awesome but given all the recent talk about microplastics
| I can't help but think the most environmentally conscious way to
| employ this plastic is for power generation via incineration.
| toss1 wrote:
| Yes, but this does make a product that is genuinely useful
| potentially for years, getting away from the single-use
| scourge, and can still generate power by incineration at EOL.
| uoaei wrote:
| True, I just figured a move back toward natural biodegradable
| materials (canvas, wax) was going to be better overall but
| with the other comments (LDPE facts especially) I am more
| comfortable with this out in the world.
| duncan_idaho wrote:
| Reduce, REUSE, Recycle
| rainbowzootsuit wrote:
| I don't have an authoritative answer or enough information
| to form a complete opinion, but getting BTU/h or kW
| (depending on if your country went to the Moon) out of the
| petroleum byproduct may be a better way to reuse than the
| green wash of the fantasy of recycled plastic.
|
| The mining/drilling energy overhead is already embodied in
| the material, so it may be better not to waste that by
| burying it instead of getting some useful energy out.
|
| The plastic container diverted for the bicycle pannier
| market isn't likely going to do anything to dent the flood
| of plastic waste.
| robotresearcher wrote:
| The person doing this needs a bicycle pannier. If you
| account for the pannier that did not get made from
| scratch, surely reusing these cans/buckets has to be a
| win.
| rtkwe wrote:
| This doesn't need to solve the issue of plastic to be a
| good way of diverting some away from landfill or reusing
| them. It's a type of reply/thinking I see on HN a lot,
| along the lines of "well this doesn't solve the entire
| issue", incremental progress and partial solutions are
| good, trying to come up with the uber solution to solve
| the entirety of the climate and waste issues just leads
| to analysis paralysis and solutions too large to
| effectively implement.
| rainbowzootsuit wrote:
| I didn't mean to dismiss the reuse aspect of the
| panniers, and I may have misunderstood the intent of
| "reduce, REUSE, recycle" higher comment but I interpreted
| it to be saying that burning the plastic wasn't a reuse.
|
| My assertion is that burning it is also a form of reuse
| and possibly better than putting the balance, after
| containers and so forth that can be readily used, into a
| recycling system that significantly ends up in a
| landfill.
|
| For example, my municipality only actually accepts 1 and
| 2 plastic in a recycling bin, but if it was being used
| for power generation maybe all of the numbers could be in
| there excessive 1&2 and all of the 3-7 go to the power
| plant? I'm not sure.
|
| Right now if 3-7 are in there they just have to be
| landfilled.
| nayuki wrote:
| BTU/h and kW are measures of power, or the rate at which
| energy is delivered. BTU and kJ are units of energy.
| rainbowzootsuit wrote:
| Power plants are rated in power so I chose that, but
| maybe energy content is better.
| NegativeLatency wrote:
| If you compare this to a car wearing through tires it's still
| much better, you're not actively abrading the plastic
| containers, they'll last for years.
| chubbnix wrote:
| It would probably be better to incinerate the waste plastic
| after a chance at reuse. LDPE bottles wont be releasing much
| aside from that cut across the top to form the lid if not cut
| with a hot knife. Any reuse could prevent someone from buying a
| bag that most likely would be made from polyester that sheds
| incredible amounts of microplastics. Reduce, Reuse and finally
| Recycle.
|
| I am much more concerned about all the rubber particles on the
| roadways from tires, especially with the new Japanese research
| that suggests the microplastics in clouds are a rubber product.
| lifechoseme123 wrote:
| [dead]
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